Armored Forces Diplomats, VIPs, Celebrities Adding Security to Vehicles by Christine CubÈ Youíve seen it in movies beforeóthe sleek, black, bulletproof getaway car a la James Bond, making its way from a hail of gunfire from some non-descript bad guys. That kind of thing happens only in the movies, right? You might think so. Security has grown by leaps and bounds over the past two decadesóyou see it every day at the nationís airports, around government buildings in Washington, even online when youíre entering a Web site youíve never seen before that requires you to ìlog in.î And todayís dignitaries, diplomats, VIPs, celebrities and the like are armoring not only their homes and offices, but also their cars against unknown threats that have surfaced since our reality changed on Sept. 11, 2001. Nowadays, as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and since the war in Iraq began, more and more people are turning to armored vehicles to add yet another layer of security to their world. Fred Khoroushi, president of Alpine Armoring Inc., said trust is vital in his business. ìAfter 9/11, there was a huge boom in business,î he said. ìJust by its own definition, the armoring industry thrives in instability. Why would you want to be in a bulletproof vehicle if everything is fine? There are problems out there. ìPeople want to make sure itís done right. They are trusting you with their lives.î Alpine Armoring is a custom-specialized outfit that builds armored cars according to the specifications of their clients. The company, which has facilities in Herndon, Va.; Holly Springs, Miss.; and Sao Paolo, Brazil; caters mostly to the U.S. military, building civilian vehicles for military use. The rest of its clients include government contractors, multinational corporations such as ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco, and money-transport outfits, including central banks worldwide. Alpine processes 150 to 250 armored vehicles each year. When starting an armored car project, Khoroushi said he first takes into consideration where the car will be located and the nature of the threat there. Crime and weapons of choice vary from place to place. Bulletproofing a car that would be in use in the United States would be vastly different from armoring a vehicle, say, in Baghdad, where the likelihood of mines and high-powered weaponry is greater. High-powered weapons also are more accessible in places such as Moscow or the Philippines. In Sao Paolo, street gangs are the major threat and the weapon of choice is a handgunóa fairly easy item to protect against. What happens next is a delicate balance of chemistry. Just because youíre in an ìarmoredî vehicle, doesnít guarantee protection. It requires a specific thickness of glass (as low as 12 mm to as high as 75 mm, or more than three inches), and equal thickness or density of the opaque portions of the car, i.e., the metal. The range of materials start from ballistic, hardened steel to a wide variety of ceramics (aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, boron carbide) as well as non-ceramic materials or ballistic fibers such as Kevlar, which is an original fiber developed by DuPont, as well as Spectra, originally developed by AlliedSignal. Once there is the understanding about what needs to be armored and with how much material, the next consideration is the weight of the car, more specifically the gross vehicle weight. Khoroushi, who has an engineering background, began armoring vehicles in the late 1980s. He said some conversion companies armor vehicles and release unsafe vehicles on the road because they think itís a simple matter of adding steel and thicker glass. ìItís still done unfortunately. The vehicle becomes unstable and you could get into an accident,î he explained. ìItís about the structural design of the vehicle, and its integrity has to be kept according to the original equipment manufacturer specs.î To service customers seeking higher security on the road, luxury car dealers such as BMW, Lincoln Town Car and Cadillac each offer their own specialized, ballistic protection product. Lincoln has a 2005 Town Car Ballistic Protection Series (BPS) vehicle that provides protection against high-powered rifle rounds (National Institute of Justice Level III ballistic protection). The Town Car BPS features ballistic steel, military-grade ceramics, 40-mm ballistic glass and run-flat tire inserts. Lincoln maintains strict ballistic testing through independent laboratories to come up with its BPS vehicle, which is only offered at select Lincoln dealers. And now for Lincolnís fine print: ìNo vehicle is bulletproof. Customers must assess their own risks and design a personal protection plan for their particular situation. This vehicle provides limited ballistic protection to the passenger compartment and includes other enhancements to aid in escaping deliberate attacks, which can be one part of a personal protection plan. Ford does not guarantee that the modifications to this vehicle will protect the passengers from harm by third parties.î BMW also offers a few security series vehicles for their clients: The 3 Series Security and BMW X5 Security both provide full protection against attacks with small firearms. In addition, the BMW 760Li High Security is a fully armored stretch sedan with special materials in the chassis, shatterproof glass and an armored underbody designed to protect against life-threatening situations. BMW International Direct Sales coordinates the sale of BMWs to diplomats and members of international organizations seeking to purchase its cars. The company touts that it has been creating high-security vehicles for 30 years. Unfortunately, random acts of violence can happen to anyone. Mike McKiernan, a member of the Cadillac Professional Vehicle Team, said the Cadillac DeVille Protection Series features additional security that clients need against these unforeseen events. (Cadillac is the premiere luxury brand of Detroit-based General Motors.) ìWe identified a need in the marketplace for corporate executives, celebrities, sports figures and government officials who needed greater security as they travel from point to point,î McKiernan said. ìMany have security at their home and offices, and theyíre most vulnerable when they travel.î General Motors partnered with Scaletta Moloney Armoring, a government supplier of armored vehicles, to produce and engineer a state-of-the-art armored Cadillac DeVille for this year. The Deville Protection Series is available at select (exactly 22) dealers across the nation. It comes in a standard sedan and an eight-inch stretch model, and can withstand an attack from a .44 magnum handgun. Although the DeVille Protection Series (DPS) incorporates ballistic steel and bulletproof glass, the design is intentionally inconspicuous to divert attention away from the vehicle and its occupants. The price for the standard DPS is $116,500. The DPS eight-inch wheelbase extension retails for $133,500. Cadillac has already sold limited numbers of the DPS, which was introduced in 2004. It comes with a four-year, 50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper limited warranty with some exceptionsófor example, the glass is not warranteed that long. Car owners or new car buyers looking to customize their vehicles and armor them through outfitters such as Alpine Armoring face a much higher price tag because of the highly specialized work. The armoring process can take anywhere from five weeks to 10 weeks, Khoroushi said. Cars that could take longer include exotic vehicles such as the Rolls-Royce or Bentley as well as other luxury vehicles that require specialized ordering of shatterproof glass and other parts. Armoring these types of cars is much more time consuming and must be an exact science, Khoroushi said. His company does not perform ìbread-and-butter production,î no matter how familiar the vehicle is, such as the Chevrolet Suburban. The most popular type of car to be armored depends on the market, Khoroushi explained. For VIPs, they tend to look to the Mercedes-Benz S600 or BMW 760Li. For others, namely law enforcement, the car of choice is the multipurpose SUVóthe Suburban, Toyota Land Cruiser or Ford Excursion. But the work doesnít come cheap. When it comes to the price of security, the costs can run high. For example, fully armoring the typical Chevy Suburban or Toyota Land Cruiser can run from $145,000 to $195,000. The Lincoln Town Car can cost $170,000 to $180,000. The Hummer H2 runs $160,000 to $195,000, and the typical Mercedes S600 could cost up to $380,000. Sound like a lot? According to Khoroushi, his prices are far better than European competitorsóby 20 percent. In fact, because of the euro-dollar rati o, Khoroushi said a lot of Europeans come to Alpine Armoring to have their vehicles outfitted there and end up selling the cars elsewhere. Cars he wouldnít dare attempt to armor include small cars or convertibles. ìI wouldnít do a Ferrari,î he said. ìItíd be ludicrous to try to armor a car thatís intended to be sporty.î The instability of the world and the collapse of communism in Russia, which produced a domino effect across Eastern Europe, drew Khoroushi to the armoring business. ìInitially, democracy always brings instability. With time, they get more stability,î he said. ìDictatorships are very safe places, but you have no democracies. All controlled societies traditionally are very safe for average laymen in the streets.î In the late 1980s, the demand for car armoring began to grow, and Khoroushi started to ìsolidify business.î Nearly 20 years later, heís still providing custom work for the U.S. military and high-profile clients who approach him. ìItís pure protection,î he said. ìIf you are a local merchant in the streets of Baghdad, no one will care who you are. But if youíre a foreigner or a contractor and youíre going to a dangerous part of the city, youíre essentially asking for it.î Alpineís business is growing so rapidly that Khoroushi plans to set up a plant in the Middle East around the Dubai area to be operational by spring or late summer. The purpose: To have vehicles more readily available to clients and cut down on air shipping, which can run as high as $20,000 per vehicle. Christine CubÈ is a freelance writer in Alexandria, Va.